Author's Notes: Back again. I've been having time issues again, but I still know precisely where this story will go, so I'm still on trying for one chapter a month instead of week. When I'm off college, I should be able to change that. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Nick owns 'em, not me. I own Violet, Ciara and Keiko plus the plot ;)

Chapter 28: …Set…

Mikey wasn't entirely thrilled, but he let me go off. I found Raphael first, using his punching bag. Deciding not to disturb him, I snuck round and peeked into the dojo, finding Leo practicing katas. Unfortunately, before I could sneak away unnoticed, I tripped and cursed loudly in pain, soon finding my older brother by my side.

"Violet? What are you doing?" he asks as he helps me to my feet, a small smile crossing his serious features.

I resist shrugging, knowing it will hurt. "I was just looking…"

"You've got to be more careful" he sighs, "You'll hurt yourself if you keep pushing yourself. I thought you were resting…"

"Key word: was" I smirk slightly. He shakes his head slightly as he goes back into the dojo, leaving me in the doorway. "Have you seen Donny?" I ask nonchalantly.

He inspects me for a minute before continuing, "No, I've been in here most the day…I only came out when I heard Mikey yell for Don because of what had happened to you" he keeps eye contact, it's quite unnerving for me.

"Thanks anyway onii chan" I exchange a smile before leaving.

As I walk away, I frown to myself, usually Don is in his lab or the dojo, he very rarely goes upstairs to his room, but maybe…

I practically run up the stairs and to his room, wondering where they are. But to my dismay, his room is empty, as well as the guestroom.

"They must have gone out" Mikey pulls me by the waist so I'm next to him.

"I wonder why…" I sigh. "You don't think…"

He shakes his head, "Nah, not yet".

He grins, dazzling me suddenly. I feel my face warm up and my heart race a little as his features take me. I hug into him, feeling his warmth against me.

"Mikey…" I murmur. He doesn't say anything, keeping me calm with his positive emotions. I close my eyes, ignoring the slight dizziness that tries to invade.

"Violet…" he speaks softly after a little while.

This time, it's my turn to not answer. I inhale his scent, keeping my eyes closed as I control my instincts again. Right now, I'm about ready to run off to build my nest, as well as spend my time with Mikey in a different sense.

He lifts me slightly so I'm off the ground. I don't complain. He moves me into his arms fully supported and begins to walk upstairs, towards our room.

"Why?" I ask quietly, not specifying what I'm asking about.

"You need the rest Babe…you're shaking"

I look down at my hands and notice that too. "Oh" I sigh. "Stupid…stupid…" I begin to mutter.

He looks confused now, "What?"

"Mikey…don't you get…feelings sometimes? You know….around me, or in general? Ones that you have trouble controlling?"

He frowns slightly, "Around you?"

"It's hard to explain…" I moan, "Instincts and all that"

"Well, I can't think of any Babe" he chooses his words carefully so not to upset me, "But I might not notice"

"Fair enough" I lean up and kiss his neck seeing as it's closest, feeling tempted to nip it like last time I kissed him there; He notices and I can sense his realization.

He places me on the bed and lays next to me, pulling me closer to him. He kisses my neck like I did his then deliberately nips it. I go to frown at him but notice the huge grin. "I do feel like nipping sometimes though…like now"

I stifle a laugh. "Mikey…" I roll my eyes, but move over to nip him back playfully.

He hugs into me, tracing up my plastron and then moving in to lift my head to look at his face. "Babe…" he almost sighs, "You need to sleep"

I find myself standing in the middle of a ring of ninjas…foot ninjas…

"Which do you choose?" Kahn demands, gesturing to the left where I can see Ciara, "The girl…" then to the right where Mikey is, "Or your love?"

I shake my head, words caught in my throat. "I….can't…" I whisper.

"Then both will perish…choose…or lose everything"

I look to Ciara, pure terror plastered across her face, tears streaming from her eyes. I turn to Mikey, a worried look over his face.

"Choose her…" I hear him speak in my head, "I know you'll choose me…but don't"

"I…don't know!" I cry, shaking my head violently.

"What would you do child?" Kahn demands. "What?"

"I can't choose between them…every life is important!"

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

I sniff, "Please…I beg of you…"

WHAT?

"Take me"

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

"Ciara is full of hopes and dreams…and Mikey is just as important…"

WHAT?

"TAKE ME!" I yell, closing my eyes.

"WHAT Violet…what?" he mocks, a grin across his face.

"ME…You should take me instead!" I shake suddenly, jerking up.

"Violet…Babe…what's wrong?"

I jump awake, finding Mikey holding my shoulders. "Nightmare" I whisper slowly.

"So…can you explain the markings?"

"Markings?" I look to my hands and see the pink mystic markings fading from my body. "Oh…um…how can I put this?"

"You were trained?"

"Yes…"

"By the tribunal?"

I nod slowly, before shivering and hugging into him. "That…was horrible" I moan, "It felt so real"

"It's all over Babe" he soothes, still curious about his discovery. He manages to hold his tongue though, which I find impressive.

"I'll show you…later" I promise him with a whisper.

He doesn't answer, still hugging me to try and calm me. I inhale slowly, feeling safer as I take in his scent. After a few minutes, I slide away from him to the edge of the bed and stand.

"I need a drink" I mumble. He nods, still in the same place. I walk out groggily, not wanting to think about the dream too much. It's then when I hear a familiar voice.

"I told you…you look great!"

"Don?" I ask before I come round into the kitchen to find him and Ciara in there.

"Hey Violet" he smiles at me.

"Hi…" Ciara blushes. It's then that I notice she is now wearing clothes. She now wears a black mini-skirt, and a grey one-shouldered long-sleeve top that is laced with red around the neckline edge of the sleeves. It's then I notice the extent of jewellery on her tail. It has several piercings and bangles on it, running all the way down. I think the piercings were already there, but I didn't notice them before.

"Wow" I smirk, "Nice!"

"I told you" Don grins at her.

"Where'd you get these clothes?" I ask her.

She blushes more. "Well…Donny offered to make me feel more comfortable…and I told him I felt naked…so he got the clothes for me"

I restrain a smug look. "Nice choice Don"

"You okay?" Don looks at me fully, "You look kind of pale"

"Just had a nightmare" I shiver as I force the images from my head again.

Ciara comes over to me, still a little flustered. "Maybe…you should talk about it" she mumbles quietly, "It makes you feel better"

"I'd really prefer not to" I close my eyes, too scared to think of it.

"Is your shoulder feeling better?" Don asks, changing the subject quickly.

To be honest, it feels numb, so I instead half-shrug and mutter "Good, I guess…"

I move round to grab a cup and proceed to fill it with water. As I sip slowly at the tasteless liquid, I catch Don's longing glance at Ciara, but it's soon replaced with a more neutral look before she can look at him.

"I…should probably rest…" I mutter while I place down my cup, going to move away before holding my head, instincts going wild. My senses almost seem to heighten as I begin to attempt movement, a certain location screaming itself out to me.

I run off without another word, fully aware the others are following, very concerned. I stumble back into Mikey's and I room, kind of surprising him. I still remain silent as I run over to the wall at the far side of the room and begin scratching at it, trying to loosen the stone there.

"Violet?" he asks cautiously, moving closer. The others are now at the door.

Words escape me, I merely grunt in exertion as I pull at the block and it moves slightly.

He comes and kneels next to me. "Here?" he asks, seeming to guess what I'm doing.

I grit my teeth, pulling again as the large brick refuses to budge. As I go to pull again, I find Mikey's hands on mine. I look round to him suddenly, my eyes wild. He doesn't seem bothered, instead pulling at the rock himself. I pull again and it moves outwards, revealing a large gap.

I move closer, beginning to dig with my hands once more, pushing out more and more dirt to create a larger hole.

Mikey runs his cool hand along my head, feeling my temperature and not seeming pleased with the result. I swat him away as I try to eagerly continue, each moment more tiring than the next.

"She's a bit hot" Mikey shouts over to Don. "And pretty unresponsive"

"I'll be right back" Don tells him. I don't bother checking.

The hole is much bigger now, but still too small for me to get in, so in my desperation, I begin tugging at the block above it on the wall.

That's when I feel something stab my arm. I turn and try to attack the presence, growling as I do so.

"She's definitely not herself" Don comments.

I feel the drugs taking effect, calming me drastically, almost to the point of unconsciousness. But even now, all I feel I should be doing is digging here.

"I'm not…ready…to sleep!" I hiss managing to comprehend words enough to use them this time.

"She's forcing herself to continue…" Don sounds awestruck.

Mikey quickly begins pulling at the next rock I want out. "The sooner we let her finish, the better" he sighs.

As he removes the large rock, more dirt falls out over the floor. I start shovelling more out to create a nice gap.

This time, I can fit into it, so I move in, removing more dirt to make it deeper.

After about ten minutes, I'm done. I smirk, but then feel myself collapse in a heap on the floor within the new gap in the wall.

I stand on a rooftop in the city again. This time though, I am alone.

Even now, I expect Kahn's teasing voice to return, but it never comes.

Instead, I notice something else; Fire. The overpowering stench of smoke is drifting around me, as well as the sirens of the fire department screeching loudly as they approach. I feel the heat as I run; now realizing I am on the blazing building.

I get off as soon as I can, diving down to street level and hiding in the alleyway opposite while I try and get my bearings.

As I look up at the scene, I gasp. The fire is in the shape of a phoenix on the front of the building.

"But what does it mean, Violet-san?" an unknown voice speaks above all.

I shake my head. "I don't know…"

"You do"

"No…"

I look at it carefully, the flames gradually dying down a little.

"You will understand…soon…"

The voice is so familiar, but I can't place it.

"Expect to see us again" another voice adds as I stir again.

"Mikey?" I yawn as I sit up, back in the bed. "What…happened?" I ask before even opening my eyes.

He's next to me in an instant. "Babe!" He kisses me roughly as I open my eyes, surprising me. "Please don't do that again" he gives me a cheeky grin as he speaks again, "It meant I had to clean…not really my strong point"

I look slowly to my left, now fully comprehending the hole in the wall. "My nest…" I breathe slowly, sliding towards it. I go over slowly, Mikey holding my hand, to inspect it. "I thought…it was all a dream"

"Nah, you lost it" he teases.

I shake my head again, before jumping at the shout of someone I almost didn't expect to hear…Keiko.